BY Adam Coulter
Salina Post Contributor
In a game with some crazy twists and turns, Sacred Heart came away with its second win of the season taking down Republic County 51-20.
From the opening kickoff, it looked like it might be a short night for the Knights and Buffaloes as Sacred Heart won the coin toss to begin the game and deferred possession to the start of the second half.
The opening kickoff was mishandled and the Knights recovered the ball and began the game at the Buffs 19-yard line. With 10:37 left in the opening quarter, a Michael Matteucci 2-yard touchdown run and Cameron Yohe PAT put Sacred Heart up 7-0.
It looked like a rout may have begun, but the score would remain the same until late in the quarter. After a second Matteucci touchdown run was called back due to a penalty, with 13 seconds left, the Sacred Heart quarterback found the endzone for another score as the Knights led 14-0.
A Noah Hines interception ended the opening period and Sacred Heart started the second quarter with the lead and the ball. It took just one play for the Knights to add to their lead as a 50-yard Cam Cleveland run made the score 21-0 at the 11:49 mark.
A 25-yard Yohe field goal with 6:47 left in the first half and a 15-yard touchdown run by Evan Bogart at the 3:29 mark gave the Knights a 31-0 advantage at halftime.
The Knights wasted no time scoring in the third quarter as Cleveland rushed for 18 yards and his second touchdown at the 11:10 mark. The PAT was missed, but the lead increased to 37-0.
Although the final result wasn't in doubt, Republic County avoided a shutout with a touchdown midway through the third quarter. Sacred Heart still had a comfortable lead of 37-6.
Then, with 5:03 left in the period, the Knights found the endzone once again with arguably the best play of the entire game. From his quarterback position, Matteucci pitched the ball to Bogart in the backfield who then threw a strike to Yohe for a 49-yard pass play. Yohe also tacked on another PAT to make the score 44-6.
Despite struggling to score all season long and being down by 38 points to start the final quarter, the Buffaloes made things a little crazier and a little closer.
With the Sacred Heart defense possibly a little too relaxed based on the score, Republic County scored on consecutive drives to cut the deficit to 44-20 with 8:59 left in regulation. The Buffs had only scored 18 total points in their first 7 games of the season prior to Friday night.
However, that would be as close as Republic County would get. With 5:21 remaining, Maddox Wells connected with Luke Koland for a 15-yard touchdown. Luka Adami added the PAT to make the final score 51-20.
The Knights will now turn their attention to a road game at Sedgwick and the start of the 1A playoffs. Pregame is scheduled for 6:40 this Friday with a 7pm kickoff.
Coverage of the game with audio and video will be available at salinapost.com.